Jessica Chastain explains why she found it “difficult” to work with Anne Hathaway
Jessica Chastain has discussed teaming up with Anne Hathaway on their new film, Mother’s Instinct, and explained the reason why she found it a “difficult” experience.
The pair of actors first worked together in 2014 on the Christopher Nolan blockbuster Interstellar, allowing the duo to grow close. However, while Chastain greatly appreciates Hathaway’s friendship, working with a talent with whom she shares such a strong friendship proved to be a challenging task for the star. They also collaborated on 2022’s Armageddon Time.
Mother’s Instinct, directed by Benoît Delhomme, is based on a 2018 French film of the same name, and Chastain and Hathaway serve as producers alongside their acting roles. They play two best friends who suffer a traumatic event, causing serious hardship to their characters and tests their relationship to the limit.
Due to the emotionally heavy plot, Chastain admitted to BBC Radio 4’s The Woman’s Hour: “It was more difficult to play friends who have conflict in the story, especially when you care about the person so much.”
However, the Academy Award-winning actor also expressed a desire to share a screen with Hathaway again, but only if it was under different circumstances. Chastain said she would “love to work with her where we don’t have an extreme conflict.”
While filming the psychological thriller, Mother’s Instinct, was a strenuous activity, Chastain only has praise for Hathaway as an actor: “She’s really incredible and can just switch on a dime.”
Chastain continued: “You see actresses who have to rev it up for a long time, but she’s not like that. She’s professional, and once cameras roll she is able to conjure up this depth of feeling.”
Furthermore, Hathaway, who is also set to star in the upcoming romantic comedy The Idea of You, recently explained how starring alongside Chastain in Nolan’s Interstellar was a lifeline for her career during a dark moment.
In a new interview with Vanity Fair, Hathaway explained how her career was in a rut after she was on the receiving end of an online hate campaign after winning an Oscar for Les Misérables: “I don’t know if he knew that he was backing me at the time, but it had that effect. And my career did not lose momentum the way it could have if he hadn’t backed me.”
Hathaway also revealed how the backlash made her a stronger character, noting: “Humiliation is such a rough thing to go through. The key is to not let it close you down. You have to stay bold, and it can be hard because you’re like, ‘If I stay safe, if I hug the middle, if I don’t draw too much attention to myself, it won’t hurt.’ But if you want to do that, don’t be an actor. You’re a tightrope walker. You’re a daredevil.”
Watch the trailer for Mother’s Instinct below.
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